Commonly known as the first Green Lantern from Earth, many people would be surprised to know that even this is a misconception. Ladies and gentleman, in this article we will review five unexpected facts that you may not have known, about Hal Jordan. With that said, we can jump into some unexpected facts. In case you missed it, I actually already referenced our first surprise!

1. Hal was not the first Green Lantern of Earth

The original Green Lantern was named Alan Scott, created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger in the golden age. He first premiered in All American Comics #16 (July 1940). He was then shelved due to poor sales.

Alan Ladd Wellington Scott was an engineer. He received the lantern and ring in 1940 (19 years before Hal) and dawned our first incarnation of the Green Lantern.

The next incarnation came to us during the Silver Age in Showcase #22 (October 1959). Hal Jordan graced our pages and became a fan favorite. Our first Green Lantern returned to us in Green Lantern (vol 3.) #19 (December 1991). Alan Scott is commonly forgotten as Hal Jordan was mainstream media!

UPDATE: Some do not realize that the first Lantern on earth was actually revised to be Jong Li of Feudal China. First introduced in Green Lantern: Dragon Lord #1 (January 2001), he is from 660 AD and was the first Green Lantern of sector 2814. He was instructed by the alien who gave him his lantern and ring to "oppose evil, ease suffering, and protect the innocent."

2. Green Lantern's powers were inspired by Aladdin?

That's right! When working on the original incarnation of Green Lantern, they looked to the Arabian Nights where Aladdin got anything he wanted from the genie — much like the construct of the Green Lantern Corps!

Furthermore, Alan Scott was almost named "Alan Ladd" as a homage to Aladdin. Instead, they made "Ladd" his middle name. I think we can agree that the editors made a wise decision there!

3. He killed many lanterns and became Parallax!

After Coast City was destroyed by Cyborg Superman, Hal cracked. Believing he could use the Green Lantern's powers to restore Coast City, he went on a killing spree against the Lantern Corps and eventually became Parallax!

Thank god for Geoff Johns, he later clarified these events and found an ingenious way to explain this and keep Hal Jordan's character in check. We find out that Hal had been possessed by a fear entity called Parallax and his body was an unwilling participant. Again — thank god for Geoff Johns!

4. Iron Lantern?

Ok, this one isn't so much surprising as it is odd. During one of the rare crossovers between Marvel and DC Comics, Hal Jordan and Tony Stark were combined to create Hal Stark, a.k.a. Iron Lantern. First appearing in Iron Lantern #1 (June 1997), this was published by Amalgam Comics.

Even more odd, his main villain was "Mandarinestro." Mandarin, Sinestro — get it?

His suit was much like Iron Man's, except powered by the Green Lantern battery and he could make constructs just like Green Lantern. Do you find this one as odd as I do?

Last but not least...

5. Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman were supposed to be a couple?

In the '70s, DC Comics had the idea of making these two great characters a couple. Now, even though this plotline didn't get published, it was definitely an odd moment. The reason it didn't get published was actually because DC Comics received a piece of fan mail suggesting the idea. This, in turn, forced DC to drop the idea due to legal reasons.

All I can say on the matter is thank god! These characters would have dramatically impacted the dynamic of the Justice League. We would have never seen Wonder Woman and Superman together, and Carol Ferris wouldn't be the character she is today!

In Conclusion...

I'm not sure about you, but I found these facts to be quite surprising during my research! Between Parallax, Iron Lantern, and Aladdin, we definitely learned a thing or two about Hal Jordan!

Which one surprised you the most? Take the poll below! If you know any other cool Green Lantern facts, feel free to share in the comments section below!